Wasting time on Facebook in Italy could get you sacked

The Court of Cassation has sided with an employer which sacked a member of staff after they were found to be spending hours each day using the internet during work time.

Over a period of 18 months, the employer discovered that the employee had gone onto the internet, for non-work purposes, 6,000 times. Out of that, they accessed Facebook 4,500 times – averaging about 16 hits a day, which equated to three work-hours a day.

For future cases, the court ruled that the severity of the punishment handed down by an employer should be decided on a 'case by case' basis, but that they are within their rights to sack someone for squandering too much time online.

An employer also has the right to check an employee’s internet search history, without flouting privacy laws, if they believe the person’s online conduct could harm the company.